NAD M5 CD/SACD/HDCD PLAYER

WOW!!! I am going on my 3rd M5 in 5 months! I just picked up my 3rd one today, hooked it up and it completely died in 6 hours. Anyone have any idea of what my options may be? I purchased the 1st one from a local dealer I have been deaing with for 15 years. The second one I had repaired 2 weeks ago at the NAD Service Center in San Diego, got it back and it died. I sent emails tonight to the person I have been dealing with at NAD about how frustrated I am. I have been in the Hi-End of audio for the last 15 years and never have I had a piece like this one. The M5 is in a hi-end second system so not a big deal to listen to my reference system for a bit but irritated none the less. Anyone had any problems with thier M5 or heard of anyone who has? What to do, any opinions would be great.

I live in San Diego and think I know the dealer to which you refer.... I was built on an old Indian Burial mound. Up at Stereo Design they (now) carry Rega if you are in the mood to save money on the Apollo. Also, up north, here in 'north county', Carlsbad, there is a CA dealer. I have an 840c which is terrific and a good match for anything in its class.

Michael, Does your call on who trumps who also agree with the pricing order? I know the Apollo pricing and that the M5 is a bunch more loot, but I don't know how much the Saturn goes for. The CA 840c is just a tick more than the Apollo but can be had for a comparable price. ........leo.........

You guys are all great for giving input to this thread with respect to eachother! As for the refund, I would agree I am entitld to a return but I guess sometimes we just have to eat it once in awhile. I just picked up the 2nd unit I had repairs done to initally. I worked but had one problem when I hooked it up after the repair and was working constantly for about a week before I exchaned it for the new broken one. It seems to work at this point. If it has any issues again, I will select a differenr repair spot in Los Angeles, fix it, then sell it. The Rega and Bryston are great players just different in terms of sound. There are so many players in the 3k range that easily compete with 5k and 6k players, it is hard to choose. I have a Pass Labs X350.5, a Pass Labs X-1 2 chassi Preamp, Jm Lab Diva Utopia Beryllium speakers and a Furman IT Reference 15i Power Conditioner, just the basics listed here. So the player is going to have some good company in this second system and would like to stick with something balanced which would x-out the Rega anyway. Besides the Bryston, what do you think? Dont need to spend 5k or 6k though.

Both Ayre and Esoteric make great decks. I most recently heard an Ayre (forget the model) at a neighbors home in an all Ayre system. His speakers were an esoteric French manufacturer and I don't remember the name, sounds Italian or Spanish like Allende or something. Anyway the Ayre sounded fantastic, also heard Ayre at Bradford's in Eugene...again sounded good. I was somewhat underwhelmed at the build quality for the price but hey...they worked!

Art, I was just looking the Ayre about 15 minutes ago. It looks good to me, I am just trying to find a semi-local dealer to audition it. The NAD I did not audition, I usualy like to see it and listen to it before I buy but for some reason I just bought it. Anyway, thanks for the tip and I have heard they sound great. I am also picky on the transport mech. Noisey transports for some reason bother me like the one in the NAD although they did update mine to the version and it seems a lot smoother. I guess you can never please an audiophile though. The Ayre is in the my top 5 so far. I was also looking at the Esoteric SA-10 for 3500.00, could probably get one for 3k or the Meridian G-08. Again, thanks to all that are participating!

In terms of balance, I think you're a bit light on the source. The Divas are too revealing of what's happening up the chain and the Pass Labs ought to be more than good enough at revealing the source for what it is. You seem set on the budget though.

The Ayre has many friends and so does the Bryston, which has met with universal praise. Esoteric have just announced a new CD player which may fit in the price range. Naim have the CD5x which will give you something quite different, as would the Rega Saturn. Arcam are in the throes of releasing their new top of the range CD/SACD player, the CD37 (well worth a look, since their new CD17 is a cracker), and Cyrus (of all people) have just come out with a real dark horse in the 8SE which can eb upgraded with their PSX-R outboard power supply to great effect. All these CD players are about $3k mark.

Thanks Frank, I think you are completely correct. I bought the NAD only for it's SACD but I think it is light. I am looking at the Esoteric piece and my friend deals Arcam. I like build of the Ayre as well as its reputation. The NAD has a good sound but it is not in the same league as the rest of gear. Any othe input will be great and thanks for the advice. Do you have any experience with Esoteric?

Frank, I know what you mean, they both are built quite nicely especially the Esoteric. I was also considering the Meridian G-08. My friend has at least 200,000.00 in his home throughout, Pass, Jm Lab, Meridian, etc. and is incredible! He has the Meridian 808 Player and is fantastic. At 14k it better be although I has a run of the mill transport mechanism, Sony I think and is just the same a my NAD. I actually I have the newer version of it. Anyway, I think the Meridian G08 is very possible at 3500.00 3k if I save a couple bucks on it. I am just not sure about the transport in it as he has had his for about a year and 1/2 and his belt just broke! I think for the money you can't beat the Esoteric. I hear they are excessivly reliable. This hobby drives me crazy sometimes, part of the fun I guess! I do like my NAD believe it or not. It has some of the nicer SACD playback I have heard at "most" any price it is just the redbook needs more on top. What do you think about the Esoteric SA-10 also at 3500.00 retail? Nothing super fantastic to look at but I think it is ok.

Im a big fan of the Chinese CDP's they really know how to build world class CDP's.Here's my list the Esound E5 Platinum Refference Edition is said by many in Asia and Europe to be the best CDP in the world I think it costs about what the M5 does so that tells you the level of performance of the Chinese CDP's these are know ones's that I know are all price killers. Melody CD-10 $2500 (this thing weighs 75 pounds! and it sounds great) Xindak Muse $1299 Esound E5 Signiture Edition about $1600 Original CD-A9.8 Da Vinci $2000 Original CD-2008F $1000 MHZS CD-88F $899 MHZS CD-66F $699 MHZS CD-33E $499 Bada HD-23 $729(My new player) Bada HD-22SE $599 Bada HD-19 $399

Dont let these prices fool you as most people are learning the Chinese are pricing agressively to try to take over the audio market all of those players listed Compete with nearly any CDP made,except for the Bada HD-19 and MHZS 33E but they tear up most CDP's up $1500,actually its not fair to the mainstream market,but its dreams come true for us.There are others who have a more established market here in N.America and the U.K. here they are: Prima Luna CDP $2500( this things has the worlds 1st all tube digital clock!) Shanling Various( I heard the SD-100 tear up the Cary CD 30/30) Opera Conisence (various that are very well built and plenty of eye candy to boot) Vincent(various which really isnt their real name) Jolida CD-100(great player with a ton of mods available) Music Hall (Which is built for Roy Hall by Shanling with tons of mods available for both) Eastern Electric (the Mini Max is a killer CDP with ons of mods to) Rayasonic (there are 3 of them they are all very very good and they put on a tube light show to) And there are many many more look up some of these players and check their specs and you will see what im talking about,good luck!

I have their site bookmarked (pacific value) and it looks very interesting. They are located in Batavia which is an hour away from me. Two concerns I have are the warranty (especially in relation to cd players) is 90 days labor and 1 year parts. This warranty length is a bit shabby, standard from what I have seen is 2 years parts and labor for cdp's. Second I have seen (though cannot prove) somewhere online that in fact some of the parts used inside are not the brand names they claim to be. This charge was levied towards the mhz 33 I believe. I would feel comfortable with a shanling or Jolida based on what I have read more than a mhz and a couple of others. Vincent is make by Sheng Ya. I have seen the vincent integrateds on audio advisor and then the Sheng ya's on Pacific valve and they are almost identical. Just an observation not saying anything in particular about vincent.

Yeah, always the warranty and support issues to be determined. Buyer beware? If they don't break, well fine then. If a unit works as advertised and the codecs all jive, also fine. What is the recourse if otherwise?

I suppose if he gets it in the local suburban shop and doesn't mind the drive...

See if the dealer is negotiable on the warranty about that product, if not, find out if there is any product he or she would be negotiable on. If the answer is yes to the second question and not the first, buyer beware. If both answers are no, you have learned nothing but are no further behind.

Great if you have the warranty Tawaun. I too own a Chinese cdp, an onix cd-2. The warranty is 3 years as I purchased it from av123 (about two years ago). Over twenty lbs, upsamples, nice sound. So I do not want to sound sinophobic.

I'm glad that another person is having problems with their M5 (although I am at the same time sorry). It's a shame that, what was a respected British company which made quality products has now become another company that appears to put profits before quality. My M5 has been back to the UK distributor twice for repair due to tracking problems and then a cable had come adrift. The machine still insists on making clicking noises between tracks on some Cd's which is very annoying when listening to classical music....I would not recommend to anyone.